KELLY: Tua's Fifth-Year Option Gives Dolphins Two Years to Plan a Wedding
We all know that one guy or gal with a sketchy dating history.
Every time you turn around, they’re in a new relationship. And if we're being honest, they're moving too fast in a relationship we expect won’t last, and we probably expect the worst.
That’s been the Miami Dolphins' dating history with quarterbacks since Dan Marino retired.
We’re talking 20 years of making bad choices.
Twenty years of failed relationships and bad breakups.
Two decades of having wandering eyes, lusting for another.
We’re talking 20 years of bad decisions, which created trust issues.
The emotional callus for this franchise when it comes to quarterbacks has gotten so bad the expectation is that things will end poorly with this new one for one reason or another.
But General Manager Chris Grier is telling you “this time it’s different,” and maybe we should start believing the Dolphins, who have pledged their love for Tua Tagovailoa over and over again, have changed.
Problem is, few in the mainstream media believe it, and that skepticism is understandable considering Miami has been caught stepping out on him with Tom Brady and Deshaun Watson.
But that was then, despite what Brady’s former teammates and many national talking heads want to speculate, and this is now.
That’s why Miami reportedly plans to propose to Tagovailoa, who finished the 2022 season as the NFL’s top-rated quarterback (105.5), pledging to trigger the fifth-year option in his rookie contract.
EXERCISING THE FIFTH-YEAR OPTION ON TUA AN EASY DECISION FOR DOLPHINS
Exercising Tagovailoa’s fifth-year option for the 2024 season, guaranteeing the 2020 first-round pick a contract that pays him slightly more than $23 million for that season, was the easiest decision the Dolphins had to make this offseason because it SHOULD silence the rumors and whispers.
It SHOULD let the world know that Miami is proud to have Tagovailoa on their arm and that the franchise is serious about the quarterback, who has battled through some injury concerns his entire NFL career, and was plagued with repeated concussions last season.
Now it’s just a matter of Tagovailoa and the Dolphins setting a wedding date, planning the event, and actually walking down the aisle and saying “I do” with a mega extension that provides a more substantial commitment.
The fifth-year option buys all parties time for that.
It also buys the franchise time to see if the durability concerns, the issues that encouraged a handful of NFL teams to take Tagovailoa off their draft board back when he was coming out of the University of Alabama with a serious hip injury, can be put in his past.
Last season Tagovailoa silenced most of his critics when it came to his on-the-field performance. He balled out when healthy, serving as the catalyst for one the NFL’s most dangerous offenses.
His accuracy led the NFL for most of the season. He proved he could throw deep, producing numerous big plays with big passes. He was clutch, hushing his skeptics.
Now he’s got to do the same when it comes to his health, becoming durable, staying available to his team for the entire season for the first time in his pro career.
TUA'S 2024 CONTRACT COULD PROVE BARGAIN FOR THE DOLPHINS
If Tagovailoa can do that, and continues to take steps forward as a quarterback in his second season in Mike McDaniel’s offense, the $23 million commitment in 2024 will look like a bargain considering quarterbacks like Derek Carr and Daniel Jones landed $35-$40 million-a-season contracts this month.
Just imagine where the quarterback market will be when Lamar Jackson, Jalen Hurts, Justin Herbert and Joe Burrow eventually land mega deals, raising the bar even higher.
Committing to Tagovailoa with the fifth-year option is about being proactive, offering a full-fledged commitment to the 25-year-old for the next two seasons, and possible 2025 if they opt to use the franchise tag to extend the engagement one more season.
If things go south before that because of an injury, continued concussions, lack of performance, or the relationship just sours for whatever reasons, the Dolphins can move on with minimal penalty and get back to their quarterback-mongering ways.
Then we can act like this relationship never happened, just like we did with Chad Henne, Ryan Tannehill, and every other quarterback who came after Marino.
The Dolphins have waited two decades to have the NFL’s top-rated passer, so why not give him two seasons to prove he’s Miami’s franchise quarterback for the foreseeable future?
